The  Relation  of  Earning  Power  to  Award 
of  Compensation  for  Disability  Incurred  in 
Military  or  Naval  Service 

A  Memorandum  on  the  Pensions  Practice  oi  Other  Nations 

Prepared  at  the  request  of  the  Bureau  of  War  Risk  Insurance 
by  the  Red  Cross  Institute  for  Crippled  and  Disabled  Men 

By  Douglas  C.  McMurtrie 


niYmn r 


JUN  21 


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New  York 
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The  Relation  of  Earning  Power  to  Award  of  Compensation 
for  Disability  Incurred  in  Military  or  Naval  Service 

One  of  the  most  important  factors  in  the  administration  of  compensation  or 
pensions  for  disability  incurred  in  military  or  naval  service  is  the  determination  as 
to  whether  or  not  earning  capacity  shall  influence  the  amount  of  the  award. 

Because  the  fundamental  object  of  national  pensions  has  been  to  compensate 
a  man  for  a  loss  in  effectiveness  and  capability  due  to  active  service,  it  has  been 
a  natural  deduction  that  the  amount  of  the  pension  should  be  based  on  the  actual 
reduction  in  earning  power,  and  that  where  an  injured  man  has  been  able  to  return 
to  employment  in  which  he  earns  as  much  or  more  than  he  did  before  the  injury, 
no  prejudice  to  effectiveness  has  ensued,  and  no  pension,  therefore,  should  be  paid. 

On  the  argument  that  the  country  should  not  be  expected  to  pay  compensation 
for  an  economic  handicap  when  no  economic  handicap  exists,  the  practice  of  making 
pension  dependent  on  earning  power  might  be  regarded  as  sound,  were  it  not  for 
a  vital  social  consideration.  A  man  returns  from  the  war  with  health  or  strength 
impaired,  and  is  awarded  a  pension  based  on  the  average  expectation  of  loss  of 
earning  power  of  a  man  in  his  physical  condition.  Being  a  man  of  character  and 
ambition,  however,  he  is  not  content  to  remain  idle,  so  he  seeks  assiduously  for  a 
job  which  he  can  fill,  finds  it,  and  starts  to  work.  Upon  making  report  of  his  earn¬ 
ings — though  his  state  of  health  be  no  better,  and  perhaps  worse — his  pension 
is  suspended.  It  is  certain  that  an  average  man  who  has  once  lost  his  compensa¬ 
tion  on  account  of  getting  a  job  will  never  make  the  same  mistake  again. 

Yet  it  is  infinitely  to  the  advantage  of  the  community  that  the  idle  man  shall 
be  set  to  work;  that  the  inactive  consumer  be  made  a  producer.  And  the  loafer 
in  the  making  is  a  much  greater  liability  to  the  community  than  the  obligation  for 
the  pension  payments.  This  consideration  has  led,  in  experience,  to  the  almost 
universal  decision  that  pension  should  not  be  influenced  adversely  by  a  man’s 
earnings;  that  the  injured  ex-service  man  should  receive  every  encouragement  to 
return  to  employment. 

There  is  another  argument  in  favor  of  this  decision :  that  impaired  physical  con¬ 
dition  always  involves  personal  inconvenience,  and  usually  imposes  limitations  on 
range  of  activity  in  both  work  and  play.  This  is  a  distinct  loss  to  the  individual, 
and  it  seems  fair  that  the  government  should  pay  compensation  on  this  basis  alone. 
The  man  who  has  developed  active  tuberculosis  in  the  military  service  can  never 
again  be  quite  free  from  the  bondage  of  a  hundred  precautions.  Life  will  not  mean 
quite  as  much  as  it  did  before.  The  soldier  who  has  lost  one  leg  through  ampu¬ 
tation  will  forever  be  subject  to  the  inconvenience  of  his  stump  chafing  in  hot 
weather,  and  he  will  never  again  be  able  to  play  a  game  of  tennis,  although  he  may 
be  able  to  attain  a  weekly  wage  as  great  as  that  earned  prior  to  enlistment. 

1  2  ] 


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With  respect  to  cases  of  specific  permanent  disability,  whether  partial  or  total, 
there  has  been  practical  unanimity  of  decision  among  the  belligerent  nations  that 
compensation  award  should  be  fixed  and  irrevocable,  and  not  influenced  by  earnings 
or  earning  power.  The  specific  disabilities  are  typified  by  amputations,  blind¬ 
ness,  etc.  The  ruling  of  the  United  States  has  been  clear  and  satisfactory  with 
respect  to  such  disabilities.* 

With  respect  to  non-specific  disabilities  the  decision  has  not  followed  quite 
the  same  rule,  and  compensation  has  been  cancelled  in  some  cases  when  it  was 
shown  the  claimant  had  returned  to  work.  Among  the  non-specific  disabilities  are 
scores  of  a  medical  nature,  typically  represented  by  pthisis,  cardiac  insufficiency, 
kidney  difficulties,  etc.  Should  these  disabilities  also  be  compensated  on  the  basis 
of  medical  evidence  alone,  without  respect  to  the  current  earnings  of  the  claimant? 
It  is  possible  that  the  experience  of  the  allied  nations  may  provide  evidence  helpful 
to  a  wise  determination  on  this  point. 

As  will  be  evident  from  the  subjoined  memoranda  on  the  pensions  practice  of 
our  allies,  there  has  been  substantially  complete  unanimity  of  decision  that  earning 
should  have  no  influence  on  the  award  in  cases  of  non-specific  as  well  as  in  cases 
of  specific  disabilities. 

Most  of  the  countries  learned  early  that  such  a  ruling  must  be  made  if  there 
were  to  be  any  degree  of  success  with  the  programs  of  re-education  looking  toward 
returning  the  injured  men  as  self-supporting  members  of  the  community.  Great 
Britain  altered  her  practice  later  than  the  others,  but  meanwhile  developed  a  most 
convincing  demonstration  of  the  necessity  of  the  change.  And  once  the  important 
decision  was  made,  there  was  energetic  educational  effort,  through  posters,  leaflets, 
press  articles,  and  the  like,  to  bring  the  ruling  to  the  knowledge  of  the  men  in 
military  and  naval  service. 

The  general  consensus  of  experience  has,  in  effect,  developed  the  principle  that 
pensions  or  compensation  authorities  have  no  concern  whatever  in  the  earnings  of 
the  claimant,  and  that  the  amount  of  the  individual’s  earnings  should  not  even  be 
asked.  The  corollary  to  this  principle  is,  of  course,  that  the  award  should  be 
based  wholly  on  medical  or  surgical  record  or  examination. 

The  following  memoranda  on  the  practice  of  several  countries  have  been  pre¬ 
pared  in  the  Research  Department  of  the  Red  Cross  Institute  for  Crippled  and 
Disabled  Men.  The  source  of  the  data  is  in  all  instances  indicated  by  footnotes. 

FRANCE 

Up  to  the  passage  of  the  new  French  pension  law  in  March  of  this  year,  a  French 
soldier,  disabled  as  a  result  of  service,  received  either  a  pension  or  a  gratuity.  Pensions 
were  governed  by  the  law  of  1831  and  were  granted  only  for  a  disability  which  was 
adjudged  incurable  and  of  a  certain  degree  of  gravity.1  Indemnities  for  lesser  disabilities 
and  for  disabilities  of  any  degree  which  could  not  be  definitely  pronounced  incurable 

1  Loi.  11  avril,  1831,  art.  12,  13,  14.  In:  Valentino,  Ch.  Militaires  blesses  et  infirmes.  Reformes, 
gratifications,  et  pensions.  Paris,  1918,  p.  47-48. 

[  3  ] 


were  governed  by  the  decree  of  March  24,  1915,  and  were  called  renewable  gratuities. 
By  this  decree  renewable  gratuities  were  divided  into  eight  classes,  corresponding  to 
proportional  decreasing  reductions  of  the  normal  working  capacity.  Total  abolition 
of  the  working  capacity,  80  per  cent,  reduction,  or  60  per  cent,  reduction,  not,  however, 
incurable,  entitled  a  man  to  a  gratuity  of  the  first,  second,  or  third  class,  respectively. 
Reductions  of  from  50  to  10  per  cent.,  incurable  or  not,  entitled  to  gratuities  of  the 
fourth  to  the  eighth  class.2  The  disability  had  to  occasion  at  least  10  percent,  reduction 
of  the  working  capacity  to  be  entitled  to  any  gratuity;  if  it  occasioned  60  per  cent,  or 
over,  and  was  incurable,  it  entitled  to  a  pension. 

The  amounts  of  the  different  classes  of  gratuities  were  fixed  by  the  same  decree, 
modified  by  the  decree  of  December  29,  1917.  They  ranged  for  a  private  soldier  from 
100  francs  a  year  for  a  10  per  cent,  disability  to  1,200  francs  for  total  disability.  For 
the  same  degree  of  disability  they  conformed  to  the  scale  of  pensions. 

In  the  new  pension  law  the  word  gratuity  is  replaced  by  temporary  pension,  and  the 
only  distinction  between  the  permanent  pension  and  the  temporary  pension  is  in  the 
matter  of  incurability.  A  man  is  entitled  to  a  permanent  pension  “when  the  disability 
caused  by  the  wound  or  sickness  is  recognized  to  be  incurable”;  to  a  temporary  pension 
“when  the  disability  is  not  recognized  to  be  incurable.”  3  This  new  law  also  abolishes 
the  eight  classes  of  gratuities  and  the  old  pension  scale,  and  grades  permanent  and  tem¬ 
porary  pensions  by  a  scale  of  disability  increasing  by  fives  from  10  to  100  per  cent.4 
The  amounts  range,  for  a  private,  from  240  to  2,400  francs  a  year. 

The  amount  of  the  gratuity,  now  called  the  temporary  pension,  has  depended 
wholly  upon  the  man’s  physical  condition,  that  is,  upon  the  gravity  of  his  injury,  as 
determined  by  the  medical  examiners  of  the  Discharge  Commission.  It  has  been  the 
duty  of  the  examiners  to  pronounce  on  the  origin,  gravity,  and  curability  of  the  dis¬ 
ability,  and  on  the  basis  of  the  facts  to  propose  the  man  for  a  certain  pension  or  gratuity.5 
In  deciding  what  reduction  of  the  working  capacity  is  occasioned  by  a  given  condition, 
or  in  other  words  what  should  be  the  amount  of  the  indemnity,  the  medical  examiners 
were  first  instructed  ( Instruction  du  20  avril  1915)  to  refer  to  the  figures  established  by 
the  application  of  the  workmen’s  compensation  law.6  It  was  soon  seen,  however,  that 
such  instructions  were  insufficient  to  secure  uniformity  in  the  estimation  of  disabilities; 
men  with  the  same  injuries  were  differently  rated  by  different  physicians.  To  avoid 
the  injustice  and  the  inevitable  demands  for  revision  resulting  from  this  situation, 
the  Commission  Consultative  Medicate  of  the  War  Department  drew  up  a  table  ( Guide - 
Bartme  des  Invalidity)  which  listed  in  detail  the  different  injuries  and  indicated  the 
corresponding  reduction  of  working  capacity.  The  object,  as  the  introduction  to  the 
tables  states,  was  not  to  impose  upon  the  examining  physicians  a  fixed  evaluation  of 
each  injury  but  to  furnish,  as  the  name  implied,  a  guide  which  would  contribute  toward 
securing  uniformity. 

2  Decret  du  24  mars,  1915.  In:  Dalloz.  Guerre  de  1914.  Documents  officiels.  Paris,  1915,  iv,  50-51. 

3  Obelliane,  E.  Les  pensions  des  victimes  de  la  guerre.  Nouvelle  loi  du  31  mars  1917  sur  les  pensions 
militaires.  Paris,  1919,  p.  6. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  8. 

6  Valentino,  Ch.  Militaires  blesses  et  infirmes.  Reformes,  gratifications,  et  pensions.  Paris,  1918, 
p.  106-107. 

9  France.  Ministlre  de  la  Guerre.  Guide-bareme  des  invalidites.  Paris,  1917,  p.  3. 

14] 


Diseases  which  may  have  been  contracted  or  aggravated  by  reason  of  service  are 
included  in  the  table,  but  the  French  practice  in  the  early  days  of  war  was  to  consider 
disability  caused  by  disease  non-attributable  and  to  discharge  such  cases  without  pen¬ 
sion.  The  new  law  makes  sickness  attributable  unless  the  state  can  prove  the  contrary.7 
A  new  Guide-Bareme  has  been  issued  to  go  with  the  new  pension  law. 

The  renewable  gratuity  was  granted  for  two  years,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  the 
recipient  was  required  to  appear  before  the  Discharge  Commission  and  to  undergo  a  new 
medical  examination.  On  the  basis  of  the  findings  of  the  doctors  the  gratuity  was  then 
renewed  for  another  two  years — at  the  same  rate  if  there  had  been  no  change  in  the 
condition,  at  a  higher  rate  if  the  condition  were  worse,  at  a  lower  rate  if  it  had  improved. 
If  the  disability  was  recognized  to  be  incurable,  the  gratuity  was  converted  into  a  life 
pension;  in  case  of  a  cure,  it  was  discontinued  entirely.8 

The  temporary  pension  of  the  new  law  is  similarly  granted  and  reviewed,  but  after 
four  years  at  the  most  the  condition  of  the  pensioner  is  to  be  considered  permanent  and 
the  temporary  pension  either  converted  into  a  permanent  one  or  discontinued.  The 
new  law  also  provides  that  “any  recipient  of  a  temporary  pension  who  experiences  a 
new  complication  or  an  aggravation  of  his  disability  can  without  waiting  for  the  expira¬ 
tion  of  the  two-year  period  send  in  a  demand  for  revision  which  must  be  acted  upon 
within  two  months.”  9 

It  is  apparent,  therefore,  that  the  amount  of  the  gratuity  or  temporary  pension  is 
not,  either  when  it  is  first  granted  or  when  it  is  renewed,  conditioned  by  what  the  man 
does  or  will  earn.  On  this  point  M.  Alexandre  Lefas,  deputy  from  Ille-et-Vilaine,  in 
a  report  on  French  pensions  presented  to  the  Inter-Allied  Conference  in  London  in  May 
of  1918,  is  specific  and  clear.  He  says:  “Note  that  in  virtue  of  the  military  laws  the 
pension  or  gratuity  due  a  disabled  man  is  calculated  solely  on  the  basis  of  his  disability 
and  his  rank,  without  consideration  of  what  he  may  still  earn  by  working.”  10  Speaking 
before  the  Conference,  M.  Lefas  added,  “We  have  a  medical  table  which  fixes  the  rate 
of  disability  according  to  the  wound.  As  a  matter  of  fact  what  is  considered  is  not  the 
incapacity  for  work;  for  the  disability  pension  is  independent  of  the  wages  the  man  may 
earn  by  working  and  should  be  the  same  for  all  men  of  the  same  rank  who  have  the 
same  wound.”  11 

The  fear  that  the  pension  would  be  reduced  if  the  earning  capacity  were  increased 
operated,  however,  during  the  early  years  of  the  war  to  deter  many  disabled  soldiers  from 
taking  re-educational  training,  and  it  was  necessary  for  the  government  to  combat  this 
fear  by  repeated  announcement  of  the  real  facts.  A  notice  prepared  by  the  Office  Na¬ 
tional  des  Mutiles  et  Reformes  de  la  Guerre  with  the  object  of  inducing  more  men  to  enter 
the  re-educational  schools,  and  signed  by  the  two  presidents  of  the  Office,  the  Minister 

7  Obelliane,  E.  Les  pensions  des  victimes  de  la  guerre.  Nouvelle  loi  du  31  mars  1917  sur  les  pensions 
militaires.  Paris,  1919,  p.  7. 

8  Valentino,  Ch.  Militaires  blesses  et  infirmes.  Reformes,  gratifications,  et  pensions.  Paris,  1918, 
p.  139-140. 

9  Obelliane,  E.  Les  pensions  des  victimes  de  la  guerre.  Nouvelle  loi  du  31  mars  1917  sur  les  pensions 
militaires.  Paris,  1919,  p.  7. 

10  Inter-Allied  Conference  (the)  on  the  After-Care  of  Disabled  Men.  Reports  presented  to 
the  conference.  London,  1918,  p.  27. 

11  Inter- Allied  Conference  (the)  on  the  After-Care  of  Disabled  Men.  Supplement  to  volume 
of  reports.  London,  1918,  p.  24. 


of  Labor  and  the  Under-Secretary  of  State  for  the  Health  Service,  states  that  “whatever 
their  trade  or  their  earnings,  in  no  case  will  the  pension  of  wounded  soldiers  be  dimin¬ 
ished  [through  re-education],  even  if  they  earn  more  than  before  being  wounded.”  12 
Another  notice  on  conditions  of  admission  into  vocational  schools,  issued  by  the  Depart¬ 
mental  Committees  and  based  on  circulars  of  the  Ministers  of  War  and  the  Interior, 
says:  “The  amount  of  the  pension  depends  solely  on  the  medical  declaration  of  dis¬ 
ability.  In  no  case  can  it  be  modified  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  the  beneficiary  has 
been  re-educated.  The  amount  of  the  gratuity  may  always  be  revised,  in  accordance 
with  the  functional  condition,  whether  the  soldier  is  re-educated  or  not.”  13  This  prin¬ 
ciple  was  finally  made  law  by  being  incorporated  in  the  Re-educational  Act  of  January 
2,  1918,  article  eight  of  which  reads:  “In  no  case  can  the  amount  of  the  pension  be 
reduced  because  of  vocational  re-education  or  readaptation  to  work.”  14 

GREAT  BRITAIN 

Previous  to  the  issuance  of  the  Royal  Warrant  of  1917,  British  pensions  were  based 
upon  the  decrease  in  earning  capacity  caused  by  the  disablement.1  Upon  his  discharge 
a  disabled  soldier  appeared  before  a  medical  board  which  made  a  rough  estimate  of  his 
decreased  earning  capacity  and  awarded  a  corresponding  temporary  pension.  After 
a  time,  perhaps  in  six  months,  he  would  be  re-examined,  and  if  his  earning  power  had 
been  increased  through  training  or  he  had  been  able  to  secure  remunerative  employment, 
his  pension  might  be  decreased. 

The  new  Warrant  discarded  this  principle  and  based  the  amount  of  the  pension 
entirely  upon  the  soldier’s  rank  and  the  degree  of  his  physical  impairment.2  In  a  schedule 
attached  to  the  Warrant  certain  specific  injuries  are  graded  as  from  20  to  100  per  cent, 
disabling,  and  the  pensions  corresponding  to  these  different  degrees  of  disablement  are 
fixed.  For  other  injuries  and  for  disease  it  is  provided  that  the  pension  shall  be  “assessed 
at  the  degree  in  the  schedule  which  is  held  most  closely  to  represent  the  disablement 
corresponding  to  the  injury  or  disease.”  3  The  pension  scale  ranges  for  a  private  soldier 
from  5s  6 d  to  21s  6d  a  week.  Men  whose  disablement  is  assessed  at  less  than  20  per  cent, 
receive  a  gratuity,  or  temporary  allowance,  depending  in  amount  on  the  extent  of  the 
disablement  but  not  to  exceed  £200.4 

The  pensions  granted  under  this  Warrant  may  be  either  permanent  or  temporary. 
A  permanent  pension  is  granted  when  the  disability  is  fixed  and  permanent:  that  is, 
when  no  change  for  the  better  or  worse  may  be  expected.  A  temporary  pension  is  granted 

12  France.  Office  National  des  MutilSs  et  Reformes  de  la  Guerre.  Bulletin  no.  1.  Annee  1916.  Paris, 

1917,  p.  11. 

13  Ibid.,  p.  167. 

14  France.  Office  National  des  Mutiles  et  ReformSs  de  la  Guerre.  Bulletin  no.  3.  Premier  semestre 

1918.  Paris,  1918,  p.  3. 

1  Williams,  Basil.  Pensions.  Recalled  to  Life,  London,  1917,  i,  97. 

2  Great  Britain.  Ministry  of  Pensions.  The  drafts  of  a  royal  warrant  and  of  an  order  in  council 
for  the  pensions  of  soldiers  and  sailors  disabled  and  of  the  families  and  dependants  of  soldiers  and  sailors 
deceased  in  consequence  of  the  present  war.  London,  1917,  (cd.  8485),  p.  11. 

3  Ibid.,  art.  1. 

4  Ibid.,  art.  7. 

[  6  ] 


at  the  rate  appropriate  to  the  temporary  disablement  when  the  disablement  has  not 
reached  its  final  condition.5 

These  provisions  remain  unchanged  by  the  Royal  Warrant  of  1918. 

The  amount  and  kind  of  disablement  pension  due  a  man  are  determined  by  a  Medi¬ 
cal  Board  on  the  basis  of  a  medical  examination  and  the  case  history.  Men  who  receive 
temporary  pensions  are  thereafter  re-examined  periodically — usually  at  intervals  of 
from  six  months  to  a  year — by  Medical  Boards,  and  their  pensions  are  reassessed  to 
correspond  to  any  change  that  may  have  occurred  in  the  degree  of  disability.  As  soon 
as  the  condition  is  judged  permanent,  a  permanent  pension  is  granted.6  If  the  dis¬ 
ability  becomes  worse  before  the  time  set  for  re-examination,  the  Local  War  Pensions 
Committee,  on  the  advice  of  its  medical  referee,  can  make  advances  to  the  man  until 
the  next  reassessment. 

The  Warrant  of  1917  states  expressly  that  “when  a  permanent  pension  has  been 
granted  it  shall  not  be  altered  on  account  of  any  change  in  the  man’s  earning  capacity, 
whether  resulting  from  training  or  other  cause.”  7  The  men  evidently  feared,  however, 
that  their  temporary  pensions  might  be  on  reassessment  decreased.  To  reassure  them 
on  this  point,  a  pamphlet  issued  by  Major  Robert  Mitchell,  Director  of  Training  for 
the  Ministry  of  Pensions,  on  the  advantages  of  training  contains  this  statement:  “Let 
it  be  distinctly  understood  that  no  reduction  whatever  to  your  disablement  pension  can 
be  made  on  account  of  anything  you  may  earn.  A  disablement  pension,  temporary 
or  permanent,  is  based  solely  on  the  degree  of  disability  and  will  not  in  any  way  be 
affected  by  the  amount  of  a  man’s  wages.”  8 

A  man’s  earnings  come  into  the  question  only  if  he  applies  for  an  alternative  pension 
in  lieu  of  a  disablement  pension.  An  alternative  pension  may  be  granted  on  appli¬ 
cation  to  a  man  who  shows  that  his  minimum  pension  with  children’s  allowances,  added 
to  the  earnings  of  which  he  remains  capable  (if  any),  is  less  than  his  pre-war  earnings. 
He  may  then  receive  a  sum  which  added  to  his  present  average  earnings  will  bring  his 
income  up  to  his  pre-war  earnings  to  a  maximum  of  50.?,  plus  half  of  any  pre-war  earnings 
between  505  and  1005  a  week.9 

During  a  discussion  of  pensions  in  Parliament  in  September,  1917,  Mr.  Barnes,  then 
Minister  of  Pensions,  was  asked  by  a  member:  “Is  it  a  fact  that  the  only  case  in  which  a 
Medical  Board  can  ask  a  man  his  actual  earnings  is  where  they  are  fixing  an  alternative 
pension?”  Mr.  Barnes’  answer,  “That  is  the  only  case,”  is  unequivocal.10 

An  official  statement  by  the  Ministry  of  Pensions  published  in  the  London  Times 
of  February  20,  1919,  takes  up  the  question  of  alleged  reduction  of  pensions.  As  a  clear 
and  explicit  statement  of  pension  procedure  it  is  worth  quoting  in  full. 

5  Ibid.,  art.  5  (1). 

6  Lefevre,  J.  The  handy  guide  to  war  pensions,  gratuities  and  allowances.  How  granted  and  how 
obtained.  Maidstone,  1918,  p.  6. 

7  Great  Britain.  Ministry  of  Pensions.  The  drafts  of  a  royal  warrant  and  of  an  order  in  council 
for  the  pensions  of  soldiers  and  sailors  disabled  and  of  the  families  and  dependants  of  soldiers  and  sailors 
deceased  in  consequence  of  the  present  war.  London,  1917,  art.  5  (2). 

8  Mitchell,  Robert.  To  disabled  sailors  and  soldiers.  A  few  notes  on  the  advantages  of  training 
for  your  future  career.  London,  1918,  p.  4. 

9  Great  Britain.  Ministry  of  Pensions.  The  drafts  of  a  royal  warrant  and  of  an  order  in  council 
for  the  pensions  of  soldiers  and  sailors  disabled  and  of  the  families  and  dependants  of  soldiers  and  sailors 
deceased  in  consequence  of  the  present  war.  London,  1917,  art.  3. 

10  War  Pensions  Gazette,  London,  1917,  i,  57. 

[  7  ] 


It  has  been  repeatedly  stated  in  various  quarters  that  disabled  men  on  going  before  medical 
boards  have  their  pensions  cut  down,  the  implication  being  that  a  deliberate  policy  of  reducing  pen¬ 
sions  has  been  instituted.  The  allegation  is  entirely  unfounded.  Disablement  pensions  are  provi¬ 
sionally  awarded  for  a  period — it  may  be  three  months,  six  months,  or  a  year — at  a  rate  corresponding 
to  the  degree  of  disability  ascertained  by  medical  examination.  On  re-examination  at  the  end  of  the 
period  (or  before  the  expiry  of  the  period  in  some  cases,  as,  for  instance,  when  the  man’s  condition 
has  been  reported  by  the  local  medical  referee  to  have  become  worse)  the  disability  may  be  reassessed. 

Disablement  pensions  being  based  upon  the  principle  of  compensation  for  injury  or  disease 
arising  out  of  war  service,  a  disappearance  or  abatement  of  the  injury  or  disease  and  the  return, 
or  partial  return,  to  normal  health  necessarily  involve  a  corresponding  reduction  of  the  pension. 
Where  the  pension  has  been  reduced  as  the  result  of  medical  examination  it  is  because  the  medical 
board  have  certified  an  improvement  in  health.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  man’s  state  of  health  is 
found  to  have  become  worse  owing  to  injury  or  disease  arising  out  of  his  war  service,  a  higher  rate  of 
pension  is  awarded.  If  the  deterioration  in  health  occurs  before  the  date  originally  fixed  for  re¬ 
examination,  the  local  War  Pensions  Committee,  acting  on  the  local  medical  referee’s  report,  may, 
until  the  re-examination,  make  advances  representing  the  difference  between  the  pension  the  man 
is  receiving  and  the  pension  to  which  his  actual  condition  would  entitle  him.  These  advances  are 
recoverable  only  when  the  medical  referee’s  report  is  upheld. 

The  re-examination  actually  takes  place  some  weeks  before  the  expiration  of  the  period  for  which 
pension  is  granted,  and  improvement  in  health  does  not  mean  an  immediate  reduction  of  pension,  but 
a  reduction  only  from  the  date  (some  weeks  later)  when  the  former  pension  expires. 

It  is  important  to  remember  that  the  pensions  with  which  the  Ministry  of  Pensions  deals  are 
granted  because  of  disablement,  not  because  of  service  in  the  war. 


BELGIUM 

The  Belgian  pension  law  of  April  5,  1917,  was  passed  as  a  temporary  measure  to 
be  superseded  when  the  country  should  be  delivered  and  restored.  There  is,  therefore, 
no  object  in  analyzing  its  provisions. 

ITALY 

The  Italian  pension  law  of  May  20, 1917,  divides  disabilities  into  ten  classes  according 
as  they  diminish  the  man’s  capacity  for  profitable  work  from  10  to  100  per  cent.  A  man 
with  a  disability  which  falls  into  one  of  the  first  eight  classes  receives  a  life  pension  of 
from  378  to  1,260  lire  a  year,  with  supplementary  allowances  if  he  is  totally  disabled  and 
needs  an  attendant.  For  disabilities  of  the  ninth  and  tenth  classes  a  temporary  allow¬ 
ance  equal  to  a  pension  of  the  eighth  class  is  granted  for  a  period  of  from  six  months  to 
six  years.1 

When  the  gravity  of  the  disability  or  its  permanent  character  cannot  be  definitely 
determined,  the  law  authorizes  the  grant  of  a  temporary  pension  based  on  the  regular 
pension  scale.  This  may  be  granted  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  one  year  or  more  than 
five;  at  the  end  of  the  allotted  period  it  may  be  renewed,  converted  into  a  life  pension, 
or  discontinued.  After  eight  years  have  passed,  the  condition  must  be  considered  per¬ 
manent  and  the  pension  either  made  permanent  or  discontinued.2 

1  Per  le  pensioni  privilegiate  di  guerra.  Rassegna  di  Assicurazioni  e  Previdenza  Sociale,  Roma,  1917, 
iv,  1268-1285. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  1272. 

[  8  1 


A  large  number  of  specific  disabilities  are  listed  under  the  ten  classes,  but  the  law 
recognizes  that  there  will  be  cases  not  therein  included  and  provides  that  these  shall 
be  “ascribed  to  the  class  which  contains  disabilities  causing  an  equivalent  diminution 
of  the  capacity  for  profitable  work.”  8  Additional  directions  on  the  assessment  of  non- 
specified  disabilities  are  contained  in  a  circular  issued  by  the  Inspector  of  the  Military 
Health  Department  to  the  District  Directors  of  the  Department.  This  directs  the 
examining  doctors  whose  duty  it  is  to  determine  “by  analogy”  the  class  of  non-specified 
disabilities  to  base  their  decision  upon  a  consideration  of  the  “diminished  functional 
ability  resulting  from  loss  of  organs,  limbs,  or  parts  of  limbs  or  from  functional  dis¬ 
turbances.”  4 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  amount  of  the  pension  depends  on  the  doctors’ 
estimation  of  the  physical  disability.  That  it  may  not  be  reduced  on  account  of  anything 
the  man  may  earn  is  expressly  stated  in  article  nineteen  of  the  pension  law,  which  reads: 
“In  accordance  with  the  present  law  there  can  be  no  change  in  the  pension  granted  to  a 
disabled  soldier  whatever  degree  of  re-education  he  may  have  attained  or  whatever 
employment  he  may  have  secured.”  5  False  reports  on  this  matter  have  created  in  the 
Italian  soldier  as  in  his  comrades  of  the  other  warring  countries  a  reluctance  to  take 
training,  and  it  has  been  necessary  for  the  government  to  combat  these  reports  by  num¬ 
erous  published  statements.  For  example,  a  propaganda  booklet  issued  by  the  ‘National 
Board’  to  inform  disabled  soldiers  of  government  measures  in  their  interest  contains 
the  following:  “Disabled  soldiers  should  know  that  the  pensions  granted  them  by  the 
state  can  never  be  in  any  way  diminished  or  discontinued  whatever  the  recipients  may 
earn  by  their  labor  or  employment.”  6 


CANADA 

Canadian  pensions  are  divided  into  twenty  classes  and  are  awarded  in  direct  pro¬ 
portion  to  the  degree  of  disability,  which  is  graded  from  5  to  100  per  cent.  The  amount 
of  a  pension  of  the  first  class,  or  a  100  per  cent,  disability  pension,  is  $600  a  year;  of  a 
class  20  pension,  for  5  per  cent  disability,  $30.  A  permanent  disability  of  less  than  5  per 
cent,  entitles  to  a  gratuity  of  not  more  than  $100. 1 

A  man’s  percentage  of  disability  is  determined  by  the  Board  of  Pension  Commis¬ 
sioners  on  the  basis  of  a  report  of  his  medical  examination  before  discharge  and  other 
details  of  his  condition.  The  percentage  that  any  disability  bears  to  total  disability  has 
been  carefully  calculated  by  experts.2  For  example,  in  the  case  of  pulmonary  tubercu¬ 
losis  the  following  table  has  been  drawn  up  to  serve  as  a  guide  in  estimating  the  dis¬ 
ability  percentage: 

3  Ibid.,  p.  1270. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  1284. 

6  Protezione  ed  assistenza  degli  invalidi  della  guerra.  Rassegna  di  Assicurazioni  e  Previdenza  Sociale, 
Roma,  1917,  iv,  970. 

6  Opera  Nazionale  per  la  Protezione  e  l'Assistenza  degli  Invalidi  della  Guerra.  Agli  invalidi 
della  guerra.  Roma,  1918,  p.  13. 

1  Canada.  Parliament.  Pension  regulations  for  those  serving  in  the  naval  forces  of  Canada  and  the 
Canadian  expeditionary  force  during  the  present  war.  Ottawa,  1917. 

2  Reconstruction,  December,  1918,  p.  12. 

1  9  ] 


TABLE  FOR  ESTIMATING  INCAPACITY  IN  PULMONARY  TUBERCULOSIS 


N.  B.  When  it  is  considered  advisable,  medical  officers  will  make  an  estimate  of  disability  graded 
at  any  percentage  other  than  that  named  in  the  table.  The  terminology  used,  and  its  assigned  interpre¬ 
tation,  is  that  employed  by  the  National  Association  for  the  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis. 


Class 

Condition 

Clinical  Description 

Employability 

Percentage  of 
Disability 

1 

Not  improved 

100 

2 

Improved 

Where  there  has  been  improve¬ 
ment  sufficient  to  allow  the  use  of 
the  term. 

These  cases  will,  in  all  likeli¬ 
hood,  relapse  on  any  but  the 
lightest  kind  of  work.  During 
the  first  six  months,  at  least, 
disability  should  be  consid¬ 
ered  as  total. 

100 

3 

Quiescent 

No  constitutional  symptoms; 
tubercle  bacilli  may  be  present  or 
not;  stationary  or  better  in  physi¬ 
cal  signs,  all  the  foregoing  having 
been  present  at  least  two  months. 

Practically  an  active  case 
under  ordinary  conditions  of 
life,  and  should  rest  at  least 
75  per  cent,  of  his  time,  in 
order  to  carry  on  in  fair  health 
— hence  a  minimum  of  80  per 
cent,  for  the  first  six  months. 

80-100 

4 

Apparently 

arrested 

Signs  of  a  healed  lesion  without 
any  symptoms  for  three  months. 

Should  rest  half  of  his  time. 

50-80 

5 

Arrested 

Signs  of  a  healed  lesion  without 
relapse  at  end  of  six  months  under 
ordinary  living  conditions. 

Should  rest  one-quarter  of 
his  time. 

25-50 

6 

Apparently 

cured 

Signs  of  a  healed  lesion  without 
relapse  at  end  of  two  years  under 
ordinary  living  conditions. 

Only  limitation  of  employ- 
ability  is  that  he  should  avoid 
certain  occupations  involving 
undue  exposure  to  dust  and 
debilitating  conditions. 

Note.  In  estimating  disability  the  fibrosis  and  destruction  of  lung  tissue,  debility,  and  tendency  to 
relapse  must  be  taken  into  account. 


All  pensions,  except  in  those  cases  where  the  disability  is  obviously  permanent,  are 
subject  to  periodical  review.  If,  in  reviewing  a  case,  the  medical  advisors  of  the  Board 
of  Pension  Commissioners  find  that  the  man’s  condition  has  improved  or  grown  worse, 
they  reduce  or  raise  the  estimate  of  his  disability  percentage,  and  he  receives  a  corres¬ 
ponding  decrease  or  increase  of  pension.  “A  pension  lasts  as  long  as  the  disability  for 
which  it  was  awarded  exists.”  3 

Increased  earnings  cannot  effect  a  reduction  of  the  pension.  On  this  point  the 
Pension  Regulations  contain  the  following  explicit  statement:  "No  deduction  shall  be 
made  from  the  amount  awarded  to  any  pensioner  owing  to  his  having  undertaken  work 
or  perfected  himself  in  some  form  of  industry.”  4  In  other  words,  to  quote  Reconstruction, 
the  official  bulletin  of  the  Department  of  Soldiers’  Civil  Re-establishment:  “A  pension 
is  compensation  for  disability,  not  payment  for  incapacity  in  any  particular  line  or  branch 

8  Reconstruction,  December,  1918,  p.  13. 

4  Canada.  Parliament.  Pension  regulations  for  those  serving  in  the  naval  forces  of  Canada  and  the 
Canadian  expeditionary  force  during  the  present  war.  Ottawa,  1917,  p.  4. 

[  10  1 


of  work — so  a  pensioner  need  not  worry  that  his  pension  will  be  reduced  if  and  when  he 
finds  employment,  or  fits  himself  for  a  trade,  or  takes  up  any  other  means  of  earning  a 
livelihood.”  6 


GERMANY 

The  German  war  pensions  for  privates  and  non-commissioned  officers  are  governed 
by  the  pension  law  of  1906.  Under  this  law  the  pension  is  composed  of  several  parts. 
There  is,  in  the  first  place,  the  military  annuity  {Militdr  rente) ,  which  is  a  pension  varying 
according  to  the  degree  of  disability  and  to  military  rank.  The  law  fixes  for  each  rank 
the  amount  of  the  annuity  for  total  disability,  and  the  annuity  is  in  each  case  granted  as 
a  percentage  of  that  amount  according  to  the  degree  of  disability  as  determined  by  the 
military  medical  pension  boards.  No  annuity  is  paid  if  the  disability  is  less  than  10  per 
cent. 

There  are,  in  addition,  several  supplementary  allowances.  The  war  allowance 
{Kriegszulage)  is  paid  to  all  those  who  are  entitled  to  the  military  annuity  as  a  result 
of  disability  incurred  in  and  as  a  result  of  war  service;  its  amount  (fifteen  marks  monthly) 
is  fixed  irrespective  of  the  degree  of  disability  and  of  military  rank. 

The  disability  allowance  ( Verstiimmelungszulage )  is  also  paid  as  a  fixed  monthly 
amount  (twenty-seven  marks),  irrespective  of  military  rank,  to  those  who  have  suffered 
certain  serious  injuries:  the  loss  of  a  hand,  of  a  foot,  the  loss  of  speech,  deafness  in  both 
ears.  Men  blinded  in  both  eyes  receive  a  double  allowance,  as  do  also  those  who  have  lost 
two  limbs;  in  fact,  the  allowance  is  cumulative,  and  a  soldier  who  has  been  totally  blinded 
and,  in  addition,  has  lost  both  arms  and  both  legs,  should  receive  six  times  the  normal 
amount.1  The  allowance  may  also  be  granted  whenever  the  use  of  a  limb  has  been  im¬ 
paired  to  such  an  extent  as  to  make  the  impairment  equivalent  to  a  loss  of  the  limb;  or 
when  one  eye  has  been  lost  and  the  other  has  a  vision  less  than  one-half  of  normal;  or 
when  the  man  has  suffered  any  other  serious  impairment  of  his  health  that  necessitates 
permanent  attendance  by  another  person;  in  cases  of  mental  disease  requiring  institu¬ 
tional  treatment  or  of  serious  illness  the  amount  of  the  allowance  may  be  increased  up 
to  fifty-four  marks  a  month. 

There  are  also  allowances  of  a  less  general  importance,  as,  for  instance,  the  old  age 
allowance  {Alter szulage)  which  is  given  to  men  of  fifty-five  years  and  over  whose  annual 
income  is  less  than  600  marks;  the  air  service  allowance  {Luftdienstzulage)\  the  tropical 
service  allowance  (Troppenzulage) ,  and  so  on. 

Of  the  several  component  parts  of  the  pension,  one,  namely  the  war  allowance, 
cannot  be  reduced  under  any  circumstances  and  is  paid  as  a  fixed  amount  as  long  as  the 
military  annuity  is  paid,  that  is  as  long  as  there  is  a  disability  of  10  per  cent,  or  more. 

The  disability  allowance  may  be  granted  either  permanently,  if  the  injury  may 
by  its  nature  be  expected  to  be  permanent,  or  for  the  duration  of  the  injury.  The  former 
is  evidently  the  case  for  amputations.  On  the  contrary,  the  allowance  may  frequently 
be  but  temporary  when  granted  for  serious  disease;  in  this  case,  moreover,  the  granting  is 
optional  with  the  authorities,  and  the  man  has  no  legal  claim  to  the  allowance. 

8  Reconstruction,  December,  1918,  p.  13. 

1  Schweyer,  Franz.  Deutsche  Kriegsfiirsorge.  Berlin,  1918,  p.  75. 

1  11  1 


The  military  annuity  is  subject  to  revision  and  may,  upon  an  application  of  the 
recipient  or  by  a  ruling  of  the  authorities,  be  increased,  reduced,  or  withdrawn,  if  there 
has  been  a  “substantial  change”  in  the  conditions  that  determined  its  being  granted. 
Applications  for  an  increase  of  the  annuity  may  be  made  at  any  time.  A  downward 
revision  or  a  withdrawal  may  take  place  only  once  in  a  year.2  “Substantial  change”  has 
been  defined  in  instructions  issued  in  1909  as  a  change  in  the  degree  of  disability  equal 
to  at  least  10  per  cent,  of  total  disability.3 

The  pension  is  thus  partly  fixed  and  partly  variable,  and  the  relative  importance  of 
the  two  portions  varies  according  to  individual  cases.  In  amputation  cases  the  portion 
that  remains  fixed  will,  as  a  rule,  be  considerable.  Thus,  for  instance,  a  private  who 
has  lost  a  limb  and  whose  disability  has  been  estimated  at  50  per  cent.,  is  granted  an 
annuity  of  270  marks,  which  will  be  liable  to  revision  with  every  change  in  his  condition; 
against  this  the  portion  that  will  remain  fixed  is  equal  to  the  combined  amount  of  the 
war  and  disability  allowances,  namely  504  marks.  On  the  contrary,  in  cases  of  internal 
disease  no  disability  allowance  is  granted  as  a  rule,  and  consequently  the  variable  portion 
of  the  pension  bears  a  much  higher  ratio  to  the  fixed  one. 

The  question  as  to  whether  the  amount  of  the  annuity  depends  upon  the  man’s 
physical  condition  only,  or  whether  and  to  what  extent  it  may  be  affected  by  the  fact 
of  his  employment  and  by  an  increase  in  his  earnings,  cannot  be  definitely  answered. 
To  denote  the  disability  on  which  the  annuity  is  based,  the  pension  law  uses  the  term 
Erwerbsunfahigkeit — incapacity  for  gainful  work.  This  is  frequently  interpreted  as 
referring  to  physical  incapacity  only.  Thus,  one  of  the  foremost  authorities  on  the 
problem  of  the  disabled  soldier  states  that  “a  substantial  change  cannot  be  seen  in  the 
fact  alone  that  the  disabled  soldier  is  able  to  work  for  wages  or  that  he  succeeds  in  the 
course  of  time  in  attaining  better  wage  conditions.  We  only  have  such  a  change  when 
the  physical  condition  of  the  man  has  permanently  and  substantially  improved.”  4 *  The 
same  interpretation,  though  in  a  less  categorical  form,  is  given  in  a  pamphlet  issued  by 
the  Prussian  War  Ministry  for  the  information  of  disabled  soldiers:  “The  evaluation  of 
the  degree  of  incapacity  is  based  mainly  upon  the  physical  condition  of  the  injured  as 
determined  by  the  injury,  and  not  upon  his  general  condition  or  upon  his  trade  activities 
or  the  earnings  derived  from  them.  The  supposition  that  the  resumption  of  trade  activi¬ 
ties  may  in  itself  have  as  a  result  a  decrease  or  a  withdrawal  of  the  pension  is  altogether 
wrong.”  6 

In  determining  the  degree  of  incapacity  in  amputation  cases  the  effect  of  artificial 
limbs  is  taken  into  consideration.  A  higher  temporary  pension  may  be  granted  while 
the  man  is  waiting  for  adequate  artificial  limbs  to  be  supplied.6 

On  the  other  hand,  it  was  possible  to  no  less  an  authority  than  Professor  Konrad 
Biesalski  to  state  that  the  annuity  “is  fixed  according  to  the  impairment  of  the  earning 

2  Germany.  Preussisches  Kriegsministerium.  Obersicht  iiber  Versorgungs-  und  Fiirsorge-  Angelegen- 
heiten  der  Mannschaften.  Berlin,  1918,  p.  14. 

3  Adam,  M.  Mannschaftsversorgung.  Berlin,  1918,  p.  68-69. 

4  Schweyer,  Franz.  Deutsche  Kriegsfiirsorge.  Berlin,  1918,  p.  78. 

6  Germany.  Preussisches  Kriegsministerium.  Ubersicht  iiber  Versorgungs-  und  Fiirsorge-  Angelegen- 
heiten  der  Mannschaften,  Berlin,  1918,  p.  6. 

•  Ibid.,  p.  15. 


[  12  ] 


capacity,  just  as  in  the  case  of  industrial  accidents,  and  this  annuity  may  under  circum¬ 
stances  be  withdrawn,  namely  when  the  man  works  and  thus  proves  that  his  earning 
capacity  is  no  longer  limited.”  7 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  though  it  has  been  generally  recognized  in  Germany  that  the 
'pension  psychosis’  is  the  greatest  obstacle  to  the  rehabilitation  of  the  disabled,  and  though 
continuous  efforts  have  been  made  to  overcome  it  by  dispelling  the  idea  that  rehabili¬ 
tation  means  a  decreased  pension,  there  never  has  been  given  a  definite  pledge,  such  as 
those  given  in  France  or  in  Italy,  that  the  pension  would  under  no  circumstances  be 
affected  by  the  earnings.  The  assurances  that  have  been  given  in  Germany  are  much 
more  moderate  and  more  cautious. 

A  Prussian  ministerial  circular  of  September,  1915,  states  that  "a  decrease  or  a 
withdrawal  of  the  annuity  can  only  take  place  in  the  case  of  a  substantial  increase  of  the 
earning  capacity  [underscored  in  the  text] ;  to  what  extent  employment  in  a  gainful  occu¬ 
pation  may  be  considered  as  proof  of  such  an  increase  cannot  be  stated  in  a  general  way.” 
The  circular  further  points  out  that  the  payment  of  the  war  allowance  will  continue  as 
long  as  the  earning  capacity  of  the  man  is  impaired  to  any  measurable  extent;  no  change 
in  the  amount  of  the  disability  allowance  is  as  a  rule  possible.  Therefore  in  cases  of 
amputation,  for  instance,  the  man,  “in  addition  to  an  annuity  corresponding  to  the  degree 
of  disability,”  will  receive  the  two  supplementary  allowances,  “irrespective  of  the  income 
he  may  derive  from  gainful  employment.”  “The  authorities  concerned  have  been  re¬ 
quested,  in  order  to  facilitate  an  unimpeded  return  of  the  disabled  to  civilian  life  and  not 
to  interfere  with  their  vocational  training  and  readaptation  to  work,  which  in  some  cases 
may  require  considerable  time,  not  to  fix  too  short  periods  for  the  revision  of  the  pension.”  8 

In  the  official  publication  of  the  Prussian  War  Ministry  devoted  to  the  problems  of 
disabled  soldiers  we  find  mention  of  several  provisions  made  to  overcome  the  apprehension 
of  the  men  that  to  take  up  remunerative  work  may  mean  a  reduction  or  a  loss  of  the 
pension;  these  provisions  include  assurance  given  to  the  men  who  may  take  up  work 
before  the  pension  procedure  has  been  completed  that  their  earnings  during  the  inter¬ 
vening  period  will  not  affect  the  amount  of  the  pension ;  the  maintaining  of  the  principle 
that  revisions  shall  not  take  place  more  than  once  a  year  and  a  recommendation  to  extend 
this  period,  whenever  this  may  be  necessary  r  to  two  or  three  years  or  even  more;  the 
issuing  of  special  certificates  to  those  men  whose  injury  does  not  permit  to  expect  a 
restoration  of  their  earning  capacity  to  over  90  per  cent,  of  normal,  to  the  effect  that  no 
complete  withdrawal  of  their  pension  will  ever  take  place.9 

Paul  H.  Peris,  of  the  Siemens-Schuckert  plant,  who  has  been  active  in  readapting 
disabled  soldiers  to  factory  work  gives  the  following  statement  of  the  relation  of  the 
pension  to  earning  capacity:  “The  idea  is  frequently  found  among  disabled  soldiers  that 
they  will  lose  their  pension  if  they  enter  employment.  This  idea  is  wrong.  The  war 
allowance  continues  as  long  as  there  remains  any  reduction  of  earning  capacity  due  to 
war  service;  the  disability  allowance  is  paid  as  long  as  there  is  disability,  which,  as  a 

7  Biesalski,  Konrad.  Die  ethische  und  wirtschaftliche  Bedeutung  der  Kriegskriippelfursorge. 
Leipzig,  1915,  p.  17-18. 

Fechner.  Die  Hinterbliebenen-  und  Kriegsbeschadigten- Fiirsorge  in  Kriegs-  und  Friedenszeiten. 
Berlin,  1915,  iii,  5-7. 

9  Von  Langerman  and  Erlencamp.  Versorgungsfragen  im  Kriege.  Amtliche  Mitteilungen  fur 
Kriegsbeschadigte  oder  versorgungsberechtigte  Militarpersonen  und  fur  Hinterbliebene  von  Heeresangehorigen. 
Berlin,  1917,  i,  45. 


[  13  ] 


general  rule,  means  for  life.  As  to  the  military  annuity,  it  can  only  be  decreased  or 
withdrawn  if  there  has  taken  place  a  substantial  change  in  the  condition  that  had  deter¬ 
mined  the  granting  of  the  pension.  Substantial  change  there  is  when  the  physical  condi¬ 
tion  of  the  disabled  man  has  substantially  improved,  or  when  he  has  become  so  much 
accustomed  to  his  sickness  or  infirmity  that  the  impairment  of  his  earning  capacity  has 
become  less,  as,  for  instance,  through  habituation  to  artificial  limbs,  or  when  his  earning 
capacity  has  increased  through  additional  training.  A  decrease  of  the  pension  is  always 
conditioned  upon  the  change  in  the  degree  of  disability  being  of  at  least  10  per  cent.  The 
military  administration  has  repeatedly  assured  that  the  prescriptions  regarding  the  change 
of  the  amount  of  the  pensions  of  the  disabled  would  be  enforced  with  the  greatest  benevo¬ 
lence.  No  disabled  soldier  should  fear  that  his  annuity  might  be  reduced  by  the  amount 
of  his  wages.”  10 

There  is  one  provision  in  the  pension  law  by  which  the  amount  of  the  pension  is 
directly  affected  by  the  fact  of  employment.  If,  namely,  the  disabled  man  enters  civil 
service  the  payment  of  the  portion  of  his  pension  which  is  equal  to  20  per  cent,  or  less  of 
that  for  total  disability,  and  of  that  portion  which  exceeds  60  per  cent,  of  that  for  total 
disability,  is  suspended  for  the  duration  of  his  employment.  However,  an  order  of  the 
Imperial  Chancellor,  issued  during  the  war,  has  exempted  from  this  provision  all  state 
and  municipal  employees.11 

In  direct  relation  to  earnings  is  the  so-called  supplementary  pension  ( Zusatzrente ) 
which  may  under  certain  conditions  be  paid  out  of  a  special  fund  created  during  the  war 
to  disabled  soldiers  to  cover  the  difference  of  their  pre-war  earnings  and  their  present 
total  income.12 

10  Perls,  Paul  H.  Wiederertiichtigung  schwerbeschadigter  Kriegsteilnehmer  in  der  Werkstatt. 
Zeitschrift  fur  Krtippelfursorge,  Leipzig,  1917,  x,  298-299. 

11  Fiirsorge  fiir  Kriegsteilnehmer ,  Berlin,  1917,  iii,  165. 

13  Vom  Krieg  zur  Friedensarbeit,  Berlin,  1917,  iii,  35;  Schweyer,  Franz.  Deutsche  Kriegsfiirsorge. 
Berlin,  1918,  p.  99. 


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